Sozin's Curse
by Leeam-Devin
Summary: Small change in the lore, for an Azula centric fiction that is focused on Azula s change of mind for the better, over the course of the original 3 books potentially past comet times.
1. Dementophobia

It is a cool spring morning as Azula makes her Katas in the palace garden. She is clad in pure white robes, completed by gloves and fine white shoes, all made of the same, delicate fabric.

The only disruption in her attire are the golden Fire Nation crown, that holds the princess´s dark hair tightly under control and the golden necklace with the dark red ruby she received on the day of her first birthday from the Firelord.

The amber eyes of the princess narrow as she struggles with herself. She still remembers the first time she had to do this exercise, focus the Chi in her body for firebending, yet keep the energy under control so no flame forms.

She had burned her hand that day and her father had looked at her with disgust. Her mother had not even looked at her. The six year old girl had shivered under her father´s gaze more than from the pain and since that day never burned herself again.

But something had changed these days. Azula was uneasy for some time now and it got worse. As long as the sun lit the world everything was fine, but with dusk came the feeling. It was like a cold, damp blanket that was thrown over her soul, as if her inner self lost its color and shape with the darkening world and turned grey and gloomy. The cool, calculating Azula that she had shaped herself into vanished. She managed to keep the outside look, but inside her the emotions boiled each night. The girl felt things that she could not explain. Some kind of sadness, that weakened her body and mind, drowned her inner strength and made her Chi flow slow down and almost cut her off. Then there were outburst of fury, fear, rage and then somehow moments of tranquility, where she could almost...see things that escaped the eye. It was as if something waits just outside the grasp of her mind for the right moment to slip into place, like a key in the lock.

The wind plays with the strands of Azula´s hair and carries with it the salty smell of the sea, that reminds her...

_...of the crushed shipwrecks at Kyoshi Island as the dolphin piranhas preyed on the dead and wounded of her people_

...of the long gone days at Ember Island. A faint huff escapes Azula´s lips as she pushes the thought aside and lets the Chi swell in her fingers, ready to burst out of her body in a stream of blue fire, there she balances the energy by sheer power of will and focus, as she spins around on one foot and elegantly points two fingers at the imaginary target, to then hop up and kick thin air, again making her firebending moves, with her Chi held at the edge of bursting out, never allowing it to leave of float back inside. The exercise is actually much more exhausting than real bending, what is one of the reasons for her to do it.

Long years of training allow her to move on the soft grass like a ghost, while she feels every stone and clump of grass through the thin shoes.

She makes a salto and bends without flames, sweat glistens on her forehead by now. The exercise is still taking and the focus hard to keep up while making all these moves, she will need in a real fight.

It is even harder as she had not much sleep this night.

A nightmare that she couldn´t really recall as she opened her eyes had woken her early. And as she lay there in her bed, one had cramped around her own throat she had experienced a weird, scary moment where she didn´t even know who she was.

_I am Azula, daughter of the Firelord and heir to the throne!_

She recalls that moment against her own will. Panic that slowly faded back. Still the feeling of threat and danger remained.

Usually she could open her windows and let the rising sun burn away her newfound feelings.

This morning the feeling had withstood the sun and carried on till now.

And then it happenes. A small spark forms and turns the white glove on Azula´s left hand dark, then the fabric starts to burn.

She freezes in the bending pose, her eyes stare at the spreading flame.

"Azula!" she hears the two old hags behind her.

"You are starting..."

"...to loose it."

They say, finishing each other´s sentences as usually. And usually Azula doesn´t care. Li and Lo are trusted servants of her family and she has known them for her whole life.

But now they witness Azula fail at an exercise she has mastered years ago. That burns inside her as her will reaches out with the build up anger and frustration to push she heat of the flames outside, making the flames grow substantially.

The old women stare at Azula as she turns around to them, her hand now covered in the burning glove, yet she does not seem to notice...or care.

"I KNOW!" she shouts at them and blows at the burning glove, her breath is a faint, bluish flame that scorches the rest of the glove off her hand and turns it into flakes of ashes that are dancing in the wind. Her hand is soft and unscathed as the flames die out.

Then with blazing amber eyes she starts to walk over to the two, who stand near the pond next to a small tree. Zuko had loved that place...Azula can recall that picture of him...with mother. They had seemed so happy there, mother had smiled and laughed, hugged her son and been the perfect image of a loving parent...for Zuko.

"Enough of this nonsense for today!" she hisses at the two, who shake their heads in unison.

"You need..."

"...to finish your training."

"now more than ev..."

They stop as Azula suddenly starts to wave her arms in long, drawn out bows around her. Blue energy sizzles under her fingers as Azula seperates Ying and Yang.

"I´m quite ready!" she shouts out as she points her fingers at the two. Both women duck and hug each other as Azula´s lightning jumps of her fingers, over the two women´s heads and rips the upper half of the tree apart. Azula gives the view a cold smile. That was her first time with a working lightning and it made clear to the two, that Azula does not need any more of their useless exercises.

Still shocked Li and Lo watch with big eyes as Azula storms at them. Without stopping or even slowing down she raises one foot, slips the shoe off, repeats the same with the other one and then, again without slowing down a little, rips the robes and remaining glove off her body, so she is clad in nothing but her undergarments. The golden necklace with the delicately crafted flame of the Fire Nation seems to glow in the sunlight as she reaches the two, the dove egg sized ruby makes it look like a living flame that burns on her chest.

"Now excuse me" she says in a still angered, but mostly annoyed voice as she balls the cloth in her hands and throws it up in the air, where she obliterates her clothes with a flash of fire, that trickles over Li and Lo as fine ashes.

"But I need a change."

With that she turns around and leaves the intimidated old women alone, as the poor tree cracks behind them and falls into the pond, what makes the two women shriek out.

Still infuriated, mostly about herself, although she had no intention let anyone know that, Azula openes the door to her chambers.

The room is dark, the servants had, after they took care of the large bed, shut the heavy curtains and as Azula closes the door behind her, darkness takes reign. She still walkes through the room, she kows her own chambers well and her senses are sharp. Father would not approve of any carelessness of his daughter. Training had helpled to make the young girls easily find her path in dim light or even with her other senses. She should never be taken off guard by something as puny as darkness.

And in the twilight of her room she can see well enough...

_...the corpses of the fallen. Burned, maimed and crushed in the brutal melee under the city._

_..._to find her desk near the window. She takes a seat at the chair standing next to it and looks into the mirror. A faint shiver makes the mirror image dance in front of her eyes. Azula frownes. The figure in the mirror looks like...

_...the skeletonized body of her old teacher _

_..._it is glowing softly. Startled by the view Azula bends forward as she thinks to see a glow in her mirror image´s eyes.

_Terror_

With a shriek the princess jumps on her feet.

_Sadness_

She stumbles backwards, the chair seems to have turned into a beast with arms that grabs her feet.

_Loneliness_

She falls on the heavy curtain with a loud thud, shivering helplessly.

_HATE!_

Darkness takes her away and she dreams of a dark, red sky and the cries of the dying air nomads.


	2. The Firelord's long shadow

"Azula!"

With a groan she opened her eyes. Sunlight lies heavily on her face. The warm sun of the early afternoon.

How long has she been...and what has she been? The princess raises slowly, her head aches and images haunt her dazed mind, that still tries to recover from, whatever that had been.

"Azula...please"

The voices of Li and Lo are pleading. For how long have they calling for her? How long till they will call the guard to break her door to find...a mess.

The room looks like a storm hit it. The bedsheets lay all over the room, her chair is broken, just like the remains of her mirror. The curtains are ripped into shreds, so the sun can flood the scene.

"Go away!" Azula shouts with anger in her voice, that she doesn´t feel. She is confused, even frightened. Has she done this?  
Or someone else?  
The girl´s eyes dart from corner to corner of the room. Nobody in here, but her. The window? Way too high to climb...still.

"Azula...your father wants to see you."

Now for a moment the princess´s face looses control and show shock. She can see herself in the shards of the mirror. Still in her undergarments, her hair hanging all over her head. She looks like she had been sleeping through the day...or had a very close encounter with someone.

"I will meet him in a moment." she shouts at the door, while she runs through the room to collect her clothes.

"He wants to see you now...in the throne room!"

The old hags are relentless, driven by a fear greater than the one of Azula. Of course, her father knows how to drive everyone to their maximum, even, or especially his daughter.

In great haste Azula slips into her attire, the robes of the Firenation with the heavy belt wrapped around her slender waist, followed by a cloak. As she wants to take care of her hair she realizes that the golden crown, the nation´s emblem, is missing. Cursing quietly she is close to panic...she can´t face father like that. What would he say...what would he do if she looked worse than Zuko after his Agni Kai?

Endless relief fills her as she finds the damn thing under the bed and just leaves her hair open, a clear break with her disciplined style, but better than the raven´s nest it had been before.

She sees her reflection...she looks just like her mother.

Her lips shiver and she feels the urge to rip the crown and a fistfull of hair out. The knocking at the door saves her as she finally leaves the room and locks the door behind her.

The imposing hall in the heart of the palace is dark, despite the flames surrounding her father. In fact the flames are the only source of light at all, turning the Firelord into a shade of flame and shadow. Azula kneels in her father´s large shadow, casted by the wall of flames behind him, while the fire between him and his daughter makes it impossible to see more than his shape.

Azula had always thought that her father looked like a god through this. Today she feels ashamed. It was a trick, a well done trick of light and shadow, but still just a tool of intimidation and control. She is ashamed that it took her so long to really see this. And she is...hurt. Why does he feel the need to use the presence of his throne room on her? They are alone in the large hall, no guards, no servants, no advisors or council.

Her eyes are focused on the ground, her hair flows over her shoulders like a stream of dark silk. He surely notices that...what does he think? Does he think she was caught off guard during a change, after a bath maybe? Does he think she now tries to become more like her mother?  
The thought alone tries to make her grit her teeth, but Azula´s face is a perfect mask of obedience and respect.  
Or does he see the confusion that her loss of consciousness has left?

And then he speaks. His voice is impressive. Azula knows the value of a good voice. She can sound innocent, absolutely honest and open, tease and infuriate with well dosed taunt or whip with the cold steel of her threats.

But father´s voice is like a saw that can cut through the soul. She knows that she will never have such a tool for herself. She admires it...yet today she notices not the controlled rip in his voice, but something...unfamiliar.

"A falcon has arrived. From Crescent Island."

Azula can see the temple right in front of her. The picture is clear, even intimate. The home of the Fire Sages, spineless lickspittles, who betrayed their course at the first sign or trouble.

Now she almost frowns. She has never set foor on the island and the sages...she never had much to do with them. Yet she feels...betrayed by them. By servants of the Firelord, that in hundred years, never gave her family a reason to doubt their loyalty.

"The Avatar has returned!"

Azula´s eyes widen a little. Not in surprise, but because of all the implications. It should be a surprise, yet all she thinks of is what it means. For her, if her brother returns with the Avatar in chains.

He still is the firstborn of the Firelord, only his banishment has given her the place under the sun she enjoys now. And the knowledge, that father loves her more than Zuko, as long as he is in banishment, as long she can rest. Or at least, she could till now.

"What is your command, father?" Azula asks without looking up or showing any change in voice or posture.

Her mind races. For a moment she is back to her old self, every weird feeling, every strange incident is pushed aside as she evaluates her possibilities and der father´s potential intentions. He called her in, alone and probably before he told anyone of the message from the sages. He trusts her and Azula has worked hard to earn that trust. Now she needs to watch her step and keep it.

"We need to take action. It can´t be a coincidence, that he shows up now, as we are so close."

Her father says and Azula nods. Yes, the timing is...interesting. It is still a lot of time till the comet´s rising, but compared to the century the Avatar has been absent it is just a moment. The avatar must feel the need to strike now.

_Before the unspeakable happens again._

Azula fights to keep her face calm. A voice in her mind, like her own thoughts, but stranger, feeling like fingers in her head. Whatever happens...it´s getting worse.

"We can push our plans, take out the North and strike deep in the Earth Kingdom. If we get our military in with full force..."

Azula starts. She has plans ready, stored in her mind, so she can cover up the rising panic with her insights on strategy. But as she struggles with the experience of a voice in her head, her father shakes his head.

"I admire your enthusiasm, Azula. But we have made our plans with the comet. The industry won´t deliver the amount of materials for a full scale strike without the comet."

Azula raises her head.

"Let me take care of that. I can inspect our factories, get us some output ready till summer and at the same time we can raid the Erath Kingdom´s shipyards at Xian Te to keep our advantage, no matter what the enemy does over the course of the year.

Let me be the sword in your right hand and demise of your enemies."

Her eyes meet her father´s shape, surrounded by the flames of his throne room. She feels herself sweating and just wants out here, now. She knows, that her father never served in the military. Unlike her traitor uncle. And Azula believes, that her father regrets that, if anything in his life. He won´t reject her on this for sure. Then she can get some space, find her self control...and get rid of whatever haunts her.

Her father shifts in front of her.

"Yes...you are ready.

We will leave tomorrow morning."

A cold feeling runs down the princess´s spine.

"We...father?" she asks and can´t hide her surprise completely.

"The homeland needs to be reminded, that we are at war. We will visit our servants and make some...adjustments."

Azula nods, smiles at her father. And before these flashes of emotion and now...a voice, her smile would have been genuine.

_The spirits never forget!_


	3. A night to be remembered

Azula closes the door behind her and leanes her back against it. She had managed to get out of the throne room, without making a fool of herself.

But now it was denying anymore. She is loosing her mind.

A faint shiver takes grip of her body, as she pressed her palms over her face and silently

Then Azula straightens herself. She will not let her own mind defeat her, not now of all days. When she can finally leave the capital behind her and get out into the real world.

A smile grows on her face as she lowers her hands. She had hidden her talents for long enough behind these walls, whatever the world, the spirits or her own head will throw at her, she will find a way to handle it.

And with determination the princess goes to work, to hide the traces of her blackout earlier today.

She can´t do much about the mirror or curtains, though. But if father leaves with her tomorrow, then she can have some servants take care of it and in their absensce and father will have other things to attend to, than having an eye on his daughter.

"Father always watches...watch me then" she whispers into the darkening room and bites her lip.

Now she starts talking to herself...

Without another vision, voice or other disturbance Azula throws her cloak off the get the freedom for her training. With enough exercises she could get her head free and maybe fall asleep without any dreams this night.

After hours, the sun has given up the struggle against darkness a while ago, she is exhausted, yes.

But as the princess falls into the soft bedsheets she finds herself in shackles, without a warning. 

Confusion makes her twitch, cold iron around her wrists and ankles keeps her from bending or anything actually.

But the part that really goes under her skin is where she is.

In her bedroom...and she can see herself in the bed. A whimper escapes her lips. She is laying right in front of herself. Is this death? Has she been murdered in her bed and this is the afterlife, bound to the place where she ended?  
But the chains feel so real, she can take a shivering breath and fill her lungs with air...and the other Azula in the bed does the same.

_It is not real...it can´t be!_

She thinks by herself, closes her eyes and tries to reach into her self, to find the Chi in her body.

For a long, terrible moment she finds emptiness, where the vulcano of her imense power had been. Then there is a faint, small drop of the desired Chi. Azula grunts, then forces herself to calm down, forget about all and everything, to reach into the place of power.

Slowly flames dance on the shackles as she bends in a way she has never before. Slowly, carefully and without her arms and legs to guide the energy. It slips through her mental fingers, like water.

If this is some kind of attack...is she the only one to be attacked? With a thought that someone might be here right now, taking advantage of her helplessness...and maybe her father´s too she forces the energy into the shackles. Fire meets what seemed to be iron, but instead of melting the shackles just disappear.

For a brief moment the princess just stands there, inhaling the cold air and watching her duplicate in the bed do the same. But when she moves her now free limbs, her twin remaines still.

_Azula!_

The ghostly voice of a woman mades Azula turn around. The room looks like it should, apart from the fact, that she can see quite well. There is no light, but she can see everything clearly. As if there was a hidden sun shining through dark clouds. Dim, but more than enough.

_Azula!_

The voice comes from outside her room. Carefully she approaches the door, but when she reaches for the knob, her fingers slide through the door. The princess stares at her hand, eyes widen open. She can move through the heavy door...she takes a step back. Her hand looks normal, perfectly normal. So does the door.

Then Azula makes a step forwards and...with a cool sensation on the inside of her body, she steps through the closed door.

The hallway was empty, except for a guard that stands at the end of the hallway.

"You...come over here!" Azula shouts at him. After walking through the closed door she didn´t really expect a reaction and indeed, he doesn´t react at all.

And then she hears her name whispered again. Withing moments she is at the end of the hallwy and looks around the corner...to face Avatar Kyoshi.

Azula stares at the woman in green for a heartbeat, then her hands come up, she goes in her bending stance and shoots fire. Or she wanted to. But again her Chi seems to be blocked and her pointed fingers remain cold.

At that point Azula notices that the Avatar does not look well. Of course she seems quite alive, for someone who is dead for more than a century. But under the white paint of her face she is hollow-cheeked, her eyes are almost empty. She looks old, exhausted, sick.

"What are you? And what do you want from me?"

Azula asks then, carefully eyeing the figure before her.

_You must come to the temple...you must make him...us whole again._

Azula shivers from that voice. The voice in her head, is the voice of a dead Avatar. One that speaks to her without moving her mouth.

_At the solstice...meet him in the sanctuary. In the temple on Crescent Island._

Azula stares at the image of the spirit, what else could it be?  
"I don´t take orders from an Avatar!" she spits out and in a swift motion rammes her fist into the painted face, only to hit thin air. She feels even less here than with the door.

A confused Azula grits her teeth in anger and just to be sure tries again, hit the Avatar with a series of hits and kicks, all for nothing.

The avatar watches her with mild interest, then suddenly reaches out and places her cold, very material feeling hand on Azula´s chest. A moment later she pushes...and Kyoshi´s hand sinks into Azula´s body and the princess winces as she feels her heart flutter. Cold spreas in her body as her limbs drop dead and she sinks on her knees in front of the Avatar. Kyoshi´s eyes seem to glow now.

_We thought you had a heart inside there...did we expect too much from a descendant of the Ashen King?_

Panic fills Azula, but her body does not move. All she can do is stare at the now furious face of Kyoshi and listen to her ghostly voice, that now more and more seems to dissolve into a choir of voices.

_He paid direly for his crimes...we made sure of that._

The voices are now a hateful hiss in Azula´s ear. She can´t feel her body anymore. Darkness spready around her, as if the dim light now suddenly fades.

Then the Avatar loosens her grip and it is Kyoshi´s voice again. And when she speaks her voice even softens, becomes gentle and warmer.

_Forgive us Azula, forgive us in our pain_

The world fades and Azula remembers nothing more.

Azula awakes in her bed, as if it had been nothing, but a dream. It is still dark outside, but the sun already turnes the blackness of the night into a soft, dark blue.

For a few moments the girl just lays there, breathes and feels her body. Slowly she reaches for her bending and raises a tiny, blue flame in her palm.

A dream and nothing else?  
Carefully she slides out of the bed, clad in the soft, red nightgown she wears at night an reaches for the door.

Her fingers press against the wood, then she opens the door and peeks out. A tired guard stands at the hallway, just where he had been in her 'dream'.

And it is the same man, for sure. That doesn´t proof anything, of course. Azula knows most of the men around by name and at least knows every face.

The man straightens as he sees the princess peek out of her door, but he remains silent, again nothing surprising here.

The princess opened the door fully and walked out, to get to the palace´s training grounds.

The fireproof walls and several hardened training targets allow her to test her skills throughoutly this morning.

Blue flames explode at walls and poor puppets. Her bending is as strong as ever...actually when Azula tries to reach deep inside, like she had done in that 'dream' to break her shackles...she can actually throw even more flames.

Somehow concerned and astonished she spreads her hands out and after a few attempts makes flames flow out of each finger.

Amazed by her new toy Azula tries to control the beams of fire, what then breaks her concentration and the flames die out.

With a sigh she tries again, she has still some time till the palaces awakens.

She looses time over her training, ruining more than one puppet with concentrated blasts of blue fire.

"Azula."

The princess turns around, still in her nightgown and sweating after, what felt like hours of exercise. At the door is her father, clad in the robes of the Firelord and watches her.

Azula greets him with a smile, that he, to her amazement, returns.

"You should get dressed and meet me for breakfast."

Father seems to be well and in good mood. "I´ll be right there, father." she confirms and almost flies back to her room, to get herself ready and just takes a moment more, to have a servant girl get her hair washed, combed and put back in place. She has let that slide a little in the past days, but now she feels wonderful and the nightmares and voices seem to be gone.

So with her robes on and her hair returned to full glory Azula now sits with her father at the rather large table. It has been a way too large table in the past, when Zuzu and her mother had been with them and in the last time Azula had usually eaten all alone.

It is nice to have at least a bit of a normal morning to begin with. Father is even in a good mood and they have a little talk, that for once is not about politics or war.

Azula starts to relax a bit, while servants bring them a variation of foods from all over the world.

And during that morning the princess starts to feel a bit melancholic. She does not let it show on her face, of course.

But she eyes the empty place. Well one of the two, the other is nothing she cares about.

Yet having her stupid brother here at this morning...she takes some vegetables from the colonies and pushes that thought away.

She and Zuzu...there´s too much between them to be a family ever again.

Or?


	4. Expedition

Days had come and gone. Azula watches the sun sink, while the steam engine of the armored train fill her own, personal car with the vibration of the street beneath.

The beauty of the untouched areas of the Fire Nation is lost to the princess, though. The future knocks at her door and she does not know what she shall do with it.

Great hardship awaits her. Even without her dreams and the haunting visions the war is still about to reach its climax. And she will play her role in it, for father and nation.

With a sigh she closes the window and pulls the heavy metal cover over it, that protects the royal train from any assault during the journey.

In the now shady car she lights a lantern with a short motion from her wrist and sits down at the small desk near the bed.

The car is quite large, but originally intended to be used for troop transport. She missed the comfort of the palace, but she can not expect much comfort in the future anyway. The hunt for the Avatar and maybe even an active role in taking down the enemies of her nation is nothing where room for that can be expected.

And now the question, what then?  
The princess stares at the flames of the lantern, that softly dangles from the ceiling.

The war is older than herself or even her father. Her grandfather Azulon had been as old as the war and he died when Azula was still a little girl. She remembered the strict old man well though. She had shown him her bending, much to her father´s pride. Zuko had failed in the same bending exercises, although he had two years ahead of his sister. Mother had of course loved him for his failure.

And now the question, what then?

With the war over things would change. The new colonies would requiere attention by the military, but the overall pressure would fade. Time for other tasks would come and Azula wondered, if Zuko might be actually well suited for that time and tasks.

He had never been much of a warrior, that´s why he had been banished after all. But with or without the Avatar, father might let him get back home, once the dust has settled. And Azula realizes, that she has mixed feelings about that.

And she is no longer the little girl, that had competed with her brother for father´s attention and love. It even makes her feel some kind of...ashamed, to remember what she had done and said back then.

She might have a talk with father over Zuko, to test the waters and maybe...maybe suggest him for some task in the colonies.

Azula knows, that father still holds Zuko´s shameful surrender in the Agi Kai against him, but years have passed. He might surprise his father and the time alone could have made him a young man by now. Someone with experience outside the Fire Nation´s territory. Azula can think of several occasion, where he might be useful in the time of consolidation. Unrest and resistance are to be expected and violence is a useful tool, but not the weapon of choice to deal with that. A soft handed man like Zuko, if he has not changed his heart in the years of banishment, could be just what they needed.

Yes, on some opportunity before leaving for her hunt, Azula would see how her father likes that idea.

With a smile she gets up to make her exercises, as good as she can in the shaking car.

But she can not really focus that well. Her decision to welcome her brother back, if father is ready to let him return, makes her uneasy. There is not much time left. Tomorrow they will get back on their ship and move to the next island. And then Azula has just a few more days left, till she has to leave.

Her eyes fall on the map nearby. Crescent Island is also very close. So is the winter solstice.

Just to think of that place makes her experience visions. Her great grandfather Sozin hovering over her, a dagger in his hand. Heat and fire, the volcano at the island makes her think of death and destruction. Yet she as firebender she should not feel like this.

The more welcome distraction from the duties and decisions ahead is, that tomorrow they will set foot on the island where some well known person has taken up residence.

As if the spirits or whatever else haunts Azula approve of her plans, she manages to get a good night full of sleep.

And as they later drive into the large transport ship and leave the train, Azula´s father mentions, that he will have to take care of some business alone. He says something about military business and Azula hides her suspicion well.

She knows, that father has some secrets, even from her. And in this case she does have a clue. After all fahter likes to ask Azula about all sorts of political and economical themes and usually expects an answer right now, so the princess has started to spent a lot of time learning about all things he might ask.

And that does not just mean, that she visits the administration of each provincial captial to plunder their archieves, but also that she had a nightly visit at some more sensitive places then and there, including her father´s chambers.

She is pretty sure, that father would not really mind if he knew about her method to aquire secret information, she still is the actual heir to the throne after all. But she also feels, that she should just give the impression that she simply is a better thinker than she already is.

But, after some of her 'raids' Azula did notice a few things. She never stored these secret information anywhere, but in her head, yet her memory is good, she likes to think of it as perfect.

And some of the numbers just are a little too stable, to be conicidentally.

If father does want to take care of his shadow army, Azula is fine with that, after all it will allow her a day off. And she has plans.


	5. The Master

"Princess please...we have strict order..." The imperial firebender states as he tries to block the way for the princess. Azula gives the masked man a glare.

"Let me tell you, Lin..." she slowly says and emphazises the bender´s name. It is good to let her guards know, that she is well aware who each of them is, in case they displease her.

"...that I am well aware of your orders. And now I have a new order for you.

Get out of my way!"

Her voice is as cold as a night at the north pole and slicing as the blizzards there.

The bender hesitates, but Azula just slips past him in a fast, slinky motion and although he tries to follow her, the heir to the throne just disappears between the passengers of an arriving ship at the harbor. She surely could have intimidated the young bender, but why waste her time with that?

Azula smiles as she hurries to get some more distance between him and her ship, just in case. For her visit she has left the crown and fine robes in the train. Instead she is clad in simple, red clothing of a normal citizen. She looks almost like a commoner, apart from the grace of every movement and of course, her much better hygiene. She can´t hide that without much effort, after she had learned to control every muscle in her body since she can walk and has no intention to rub herself in dirt, like most commoners seem to do. And under the robes she still wears the necklace with the nation´s emblem and the tear shaped ruby. She has never removed that necklace and does not intend to start with it today. So instead she has a scarf wrapped around her shoulders, that helps to hide to necklace from any greedy eyes.

Although Azula finds the idea of bandits trying to rob her almost amusing enough to show off the gold and gem, almost.

For a few Copper pieces she gets a seat in a cart, that drives her to Shun Jing. Squeezed in between smelly peasants and barely cleaner travelers, Azula has time to prepare for her visit. She feels excited, yet a bit nervous. She has not seen him since...well a while. Zuko´s training must have been five years ago. Does he even remember her?

Hands folded and seemingly lost in thought Azula kills the time by watching the others in the cart. The stories these people´s faces and body language tell are depressing. The stories they tell the princess´s nose even more so. The Fire Nation seems to be in a worse state, than Azula ever knew.

As they arrive at the city she is more than happy to leave these nobodys behind.

Yet she does notice a man before her moving a bit oddly. It takes Azula a brief moment, till she understands why. He moves closer to an old man and when he comes close he pretends to bump into him, so he can reach for the old man´s pocket as they get off the cart.

A short, hot flash of angers hits the princess and she does bump into the thief, just as he makes his move and kicks him just as she does. He looses his weight and with a cry falls down on the street, so his hand in the old man´s pocket tries to get a hold, so in front of the whole group he pulls at the old man´s pocket, before he falls, a purse in his hand, that is not his.

Azula leaves the scene quickly, but heard with some level of satisfaction, how the old man calls the thief out.

Not that she cares for anyone here, she just believes in law and order in the Fire Nation. And it feels so warm inside of her, like a nice cup of warm juice in a cold night.

Clearly in the right mood the princess leaves the town that she just arrived in, to head for a path that will lead her upwards, to the small castle above the town.

The wind bites through Azula´s clothes on her way up. It is still winter, even in the Fire Nation and she has made a bad choice with her disguise. Too thin for a longer walk in the winter, although she is not really cold. But it is something she needs to keep in mind for the future, keep the wheather in mind. After all even Zuzu would have every reason to laugh, if she missed the Avatar because she got herself a cold or heat stroke, whatever might come.

And then she reaches the gate and grabs the heavy ring to knock three times loudly.

After a few moments of silence she just reaches out to repeat her knock, as she hears footsteps. Azula looks down on herself to make sure she looks all the commoner for the master´s servant, that she expect to open her the door.

And indeed, a man with greyish hair and a high forehead opens and looks at Azula with a frown.

"I want to see master Piandao." she say, before he even has time to speak. His frown deepens as he gazes up the smaller girl.

"Master Piandao already has a student, go home, girl!" he says and closes the door as he still speaks.

Although Azula came prepared for rejection, she still is angered by the rude and fast kind of it.

So she waits for a moment, then violently knocks again. With a little glee she overhears an angered grunt, but before the servant has time to get to the door Azula already climbs up on it, pushes herself against the archway and after a moment to secure her position she pushes herself upwards, to grab the wall above the gate and find a joint in it. With little effort the princess climbs the low wall and as the servant opens the door she jumps down and lands like a cat, rolls over and comes back on her feet.

"Thank you for changing your mind" Azula tauts the surprise servant and starts to run.

"Hey...hey stop! Get back here you insolent brat!"

Under other circumstances Azula would have made the man pay for his words. But this is something she pretty much expected...and even enjoys. The man is fast and in good shape for his age, but Azula is way beyond being in a good shape. She runs towards a wall, keeps running for a few steps up the wall, to grab the edge of the roof and in one fluid motion pulls herself up, to then run over the roof towards the next building. This one is higher than the first one, that she used to get off the ground, but it only means she has to climb up a few seconds, to get up on the roof.

Below her on the yard the man watches her with his mouth open.

Azula gives him her sweetest smile, waves and disappears out of his sight, to jump off the roof on the other side, so she is now in the inner yard.

The servants obviously has recovered and she can hear him storm up the stairs, that Azula playfully ignored and so she gets moving again. The main building is near, the door unlocked so she allows herself in and runs through the house, turns to a near room and jumps inside.

Paint and a canvas stand show her, that she has found the room, where master Piandao keeps his artistic tools. Several landscapes hang here, that show the lush, green valleys and waterfalls of the island.

Azula casually walks around and enjoys the master´s work. He is a man of so much talent. Although he is no bender Azula admires him. She even has a bit of a crush on him, well she had back then. She had loved to watch him and Zuko fight, the wooden swords hitting each other as the two had moved through the palace gardens.

And even back then Azula had noticed, that master Piandao had really managed to get Zuko to become good at something. That alone was worth her respect.

The servant storms in. "You...damn little." he gasps. His face is red and he is sweating, Azula turns her head and smiles, but remains in front of a large picture, while he comes for her. As he reaches out she just bows under his arm and slips behind him.

"What the..." he shouts, surprised and really angered by the evasive nature of the intruder.

With both hands ready he now turns to Azula, but she again escapes him without much effort. A step aside, duck, two steps back...then a jump to stay out of his range.

She is showing off and enjoys the expression on the servant´s face, while she tires him out, smiling at him all the time.

"Princess Azula...what a surprise." She recognized the voice immideately and turns around at the door. She has not heard him come, he still moves like a breeze.

And there stands the man, who had defeated one hundred men alone in combat. Master Piandao, artist, sword master and blacksmith. The servants gasps.

"Princess..." he sinks on his knees after a moment, but Azula doesn´t care for him anymore. She smiles warmly at the bearded man in the door. He has not aged a single day since she last saw him.

"You remember me. I´m flattered." Azula is proud, that her voice is soft and calm. Neither her face nor her voice show how she feels about that. Although her eyes might have brightened up a bit as she sees him again.

"Your highness, how could I not remember the most enthusiastic student that I was never allowed to train." he says. His voice is friendly and he even returns her smile slightly. Azula feels a little blush reaching her cheeks. She had probably been rather annoying at that time. Mother had been resolute in her choice of a teacher for Zuko, but as resolute about Azula´s desires to learn the art from this master, too.

Zuko had always been mother´s little boy. That had not stopped Azula, of course. Not even her father´s clear rejection for a man, who had once deserted from the Fire Nation´s army had achieved this.

But for the most part her lessons had taken place out of sight from her mother, when master Piandao had given the young princess a few, forbidden minutes with her brother´s training sword.

His eyes wander over her rather unusual attire.

"I assume you did not inform your royal father of your visit here." he says and Azula feels a short, yet harsh sting of...fear?

"He knows nothing, yes." she admits to the master and makes a step forward to him.

"But my duties led me here and I could not resist to seize the opportunity." she adds.

"So you wish to have the fight you wanted so desperately, when we met the last time?"  
Azula looks up to master Piandao´s eyes and nods. The days after Azulon´s death had brought a different pain to the young Azula. Of course she had not cared so much for the grumpy old man, but loosing her mother...had been a relief. Yes, that was all she felt that time and all she feels now.  
He watches her face as if he can read in it, although Azula has mastered her own expression and even father does not know what she thinks. She´d know it if he did.

But the new Firelord had been less willing to let Piandao teach his son, even less his daughter. With Iroh being branded a traitor for his shame at Ba Sing Se and him pretty much retreating with victory at reach, Ozai had be named Firelord. Grandfather´s last wish, before the shame over his first son had weakened his old body.

At least that was what most people heard among the commoners. If someone else had a different idea, he usually kept quiet about it.

And Azula had lost her secret mentor and alternative father figure. That had hurt her a lot and she remembered, that her begging for him to stay had earned her a painful lesson in obedience. But she had never forgotten and master Piandao seemed to remember, too.

A few minutes later Azula faces Piandao on the yard behind the castle. From the higher terrace his servant watches, while Azula carefully explores the sword she has been provided with.

"It is the blade your brother was supposed to wield, once he was ready for a sharp weapon. Unfortunately we never finished that part."

Azula grins as she holds the blade out into the light of the darkening day. Clouds fill the sky and a cool wind howls over the hills around the castle. It is chilly, but with the triumph over Zuko in her hand Azula does not feel the bite of it. She makes a few moves, tries to get a feeling for the sword. It is heavy and she is not used to work with a tool like that. She knows, that it will affect her mobility and tire her out. She needs to be fast in more than one way, to even stand her ground against a master. And she reeks anticipation as she nods and raises her sword to signal her readiness.

The master stands before her, the blade low, his other arm pointed at the sky behind him. It is an elegant stance, one that Azula does not dare to copy. She would only humiliate herself with such a cheap attempt to appear better than she really is. So she keeps her blade up, although that makes it harder to hold it, but being defeated with the first stroke of the sword because she took a stance she does not even understand would hurt more than her muscles.

And so they stay, watch each other and for a while, they both don´t move.

A tiny change in Piandao´s posture is all the warning Azula gets, before his sword flies towards her face. In an impact that hurts her arm and makes the swords spray sparks in the air she parries and makes a step back, driven by the force of his arm. He follows her, sends a series of fast attacks against Azula´s uppers body, that forces her to move and defend.

Suddenly he strikes low, Azula jumps up, so the blade flows through the air under feet, she starts moving around him now, tries to get behind him, surprise him from a different angle.

Piandao just slides around on his feet, barely moves, till he finds a pattern in Azula´s attacks and she has to jump again, this time to the side, where she rolls over and almost cuts herself with her own sword. She is so not unsed to carry something like that around. He is relentless and she can barely get back on her feet, as he already attacks again. Azula moves backwards, the wall to the terrace comes closer. He corners her, sweat glistens on her forehead and her arm already hurts from the mightly blows.

A swift strike and Azula can see her blade fly away. A hearbeat later she makes a sudden jump backwards and uses the wall to push herself around, lunging after her blade. She can hear Piandao´s sword cut through the air behind her head.

This time she rolls over perfectly, grabs the sword in one fluid motion and without getting up she strikes around, now also moving on her feet alone in her still huddled posture.

That seems to catch Piandao off guard, he parries the assault and stops his pursuit, so Azula has time to get up.

She pants, feels exhaustion, but smiles. It feels great, the rush of excitement and the thrill of an actually sharp blade coming after her. She trusts Piandao to handle the situation, but the danger is still there and very real. She thrives in that feeling and encouraged by his short hesitation after her almost kneeling attack she jumps forward. Going in her knees again she changes her angle, to then jump up, attack him while still in the air.

That was a mistake, as he moves closer, pushes her backwards with his body and grabs her sword arm, while his sword carefully touches her neck with the flat side.

Azula lowers her eyes as she feels hot shame burn in her eyes. She makes a step back and bows for the winner, but she feels devastated. She lost, easily. She didn´t expect to win against a master, but at least being able to keep the fight going for some more time.

"Very good." He says, but Azula shakes her head

"I lost, miserably." she hisses and can´t look Piandao in the eyes. He sighs.

"Princess...Azula" he says and sounds less formal with her name than before.

"You always take things like that to your heart. You lost, but now take that experience and forge it into progress. You did not disappoint me, you learned much in the little time we had, once. And you have not forgotten what I taught you. Except for the one thing, that you never let into your heart."

Now she looks up to him, feeling more confused, but still angry at herself and shaken by the swift defeat.

"A warrior does not become great by winning every fight, he does it by surviving each of them."

He looks at her and places a hand on her shoulder. "That is why you came after all. To say farewell."

Now Azula stares at him. She looks into his eyes and understands. He knows.

"You are going to war. And you know, that you might never return.

I can promise you, nothing can really prepare you for what is about to come."

His expression does not change, but Azula can hear something new, strange in his voice. His eyes pierce into hers.

"Training, confidance, righteouness, all things that are good to have." His expression now changes slightly and he looks through her now, into some battlefield and his voice and eyes send a cold shiver down Azula´s spine.

"But when the moment comes, you are all alone to face the nature of war and you will have to look into yourself and decide...what person will you be from now on? And that decision will determine your path."

Azula swallows. "So there will be a moment, that defines me forever?" she does not recognize her own voice. Flat, shaking, under other circumstances she would have hated her lack of self control.

The cold, hard reality in that veteran´s eyes washes all her illusions and fallacies away, leaving her naked before herself.

She had been so sure to be ready, prepared and brave. She didn´t come very far, didn´t even need to see a single battlefield, to find fear in herself, weakness...cowardice.

Master Piandao shakes his head. "No, you can always change the course of your fate, always.

But the chosen path becomes easier to walk, each step makes it more and more comfortable, while leading you away from the other paths. And one day you might find yourself alone in the wilderness, with nowhere to go and every trace of a different way lost behind you."

He looks at her, then smoles as the coldness fades.

"Please, never forget that. You can shape your fate, if you are willing to look into your heart and ask it."  
Azula nods slowly, tries to understand the meaning of his words.

"I...I don´t know if...I am on the right path. I...am afraid." she says and lowers her head, she admitted her shame, but it only made it worse. How will he think of her now, after she had been the brave young warrior all the time, now revealed to be a coward.

"To feel fear does not make cowards, to be ruled by it does. A brave man can only be brave when he is afraid, when he admits his fear and faces it, to conquer it.

Then fear can be an ally, that sharpens your senses and fils your arms with strength to fight harder than ever.

You admittet your fear, faced defeat...now you must overcome your fears and you will be ready for everything." he says, then lays and arm around her and gently leads Azula back to his home.

"Come, let us have a refreshment."

Awful quiet and not sure what to do or say Azula follows him. She is confused, a feeling she has not experienced like that since...since mother left.


End file.
